'The Flash' Recap: 'Therefore I Am'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

I have to admit, season four of The Flash continues to impress me week in and week out. I’ve already been blown away by the fact that the powers that be managed to shift the tone and design of this series back to more lighthearted fare, but what dropped my jaw this week, was the incredible writing that came about in last night’s episode, ‘Therefore I Am’. Because this particular tale not only managed to deliver unto us a quality origin story for this season’s big bad, it also provided us with an amazing character study when it comes to Clifford DeVoe.
 
Because as it turns out, Clifford DeVoe came to the world of evil, with only the best of intentions in mind, since all he ever wanted was to make the world a better place and he was willing to put himself in harm’s way, by way of the accelerator explosion, in order to make that happen and oddly enough, his plan to increase his intelligence worked like a charm, and that’s when tragedy struck. Because it didn’t take all that long for Clifford’s brain to begin to pull all the energy it needed from the rest of body, making him weak and frail, and this turn of events gave him an unwholesome perspective.
 
It simply seemed unfair to him that others were given these beautiful gifts, only to waste them on petty crime or grand schemes while he rots away because of his abilities and despite his wife’s best efforts to extend his life and his dream by designing the chair that we’ve seen all season long, it’s clear now that DeVoe will impose his will upon humanity and deem whatever plan he’s come up with for mankind as a necessity to save it and what truly blew me away about this portion of the story, is that we didn’t meet him before he became a villain last week, he has been living a dual life all along and has been this evil monster for some time now, and already we’re getting a taste of his malice since it’s clear he likes to toy around with his nemesis.
 
Because this entire episode was one long con really. One where Clifford played innocent, and turned Barry’s friends against him since Mister Allen had a sneaking suspicion that DeVoe was more than meets the eye and his push to reveal the truth didn’t sit well with Team Flash at first and well, that final scene with Barry and Clifford, wherein DeVoe revealed his true identity and the fact that he was just screwing with Barry to test his mettle and his strength was downright chilling. He is a cold and calculated villain and I love the fact that he has been keeping a low profile as a professor by day and it was eerie to watch him transform into his evil persona in the closing moments of the story.
 
But when all is said and done, this kind of engaging tale can only be successful with what I made mention of earlier, quality writing, and every word that went into the script for this episode was simply top notch because it sold our villain. You almost feel for DeVoe in a way and more importantly, you understand him and revile him now since it’s clear his good intentions have been turned into a twisted vendetta and really, what made this episode work for me was that final conversation between Barry and Clifford, because it’s always a joy when the good guy and his nemesis are able to meet face to face and size each other up. Either way, The Thinker has taken the center stage and it should be interesting to see what his next move will be. Until next time.  

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